The end of the first half of the autumn term at Southwark Primary sees the majority of children happy and settled in the nursery. The staff team's commitment and hard work has ensured that the children are content, engaged and happy to part from a carer.
We first met them and their families back in July during the home visits, which meant we had first contact with the children 'on their own turf'. We took photographs of them at home for their pegs/milk labels and to put at the start of their 'Learning Journey' documentation. Some children drew pictures to be displayed on the nursery walls so on entry they could see something familiar and it helped them to feel part of the nursery group.
All children plan their day with a parent or carer using pictorial 'planning boards'. The visuals include a symbol for register, dinner time, areas of the continuous provision and most importantly for three-year-olds, a symbol that shows home!
Admitting 90 three-year-olds was not easy! We had a 'head count day' deadline for the end of September - so we had just three weeks to get them all in!
All of the children visited with a parent or carer for one hour and then the next day stayed on their own for a few hours. The next day they stayed for dinner and then the following day until the end of the afternoon session, if they were ready for it.
SETTLING IN
To help them settle in, we introduced a 'Hello and Goodbye' song' that used the children's names. This helped them to feel part of their key person groups and also supported them in getting to know other children's names.
Dinner times have become calmer as the nursery team support the children, carry their dinner trays and sit in key groups with familiar children. Older children in the school also come to help the nursery children to cut up food and model using a knife and fork.
Using stickers to support positive praise for children parting successfully from parents has also helped them settle in.
